"It was weird because hip-hop was becoming this force, then grunge music stopped it for one second, ya know? Those 'hair bands' were too easy for us to take out; when Kurt Cobain came with that statement it was like, 'We got to wait awhile.'"

Jay also traces the rise of grunge to the failure of those same hair bands to enthrall young music fans. "First we got to go back to before grunge and why grunge happened," he says. "'Hair bands' dominated the airwaves and rock became more about looks than about actual substance and what it stood for -- the rebellious spirit of youth ... That's why 'Teen Spirit' rang so loud because it was right on point with how everyone felt."

Given Jay's recent concert run at the Barclays Center, the home of the newly christened Brooklyn Nets (the team he's a minority owner of), Jay knows a thing or two about dominating culture. (Just yesterday, the rapper announced that his performances at Barclays will be released as an album.)

The two hip-hop greats were recently in the studio with R&B phenom Frank Ocean, according to Pharrell's Twitter:

Williams' book, which hits stores Oct. 16, begins with Jay and Pharrell's conversation. Aside from Cobain's legacy, the two dished on making a great record, Biggie's death and '90s hip-hop. Head over to Spin for more.

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Jay-Z Christens Barclays Center

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Rapper Jay-Z performs the inaugural concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday Sept. 28, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

The Barclays Center welcomes fans of Jay-Z for the first of eight concerts to open the venue at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues in the New York city borough of Brooklyn, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

The Barclays Center welcomes fans of Jay-Z for the first of eight concerts to open the venue at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues in the New York city borough of Brooklyn, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

The Barclays Center welcomes fans of Jay-Z for the first of eight concerts to open the venue at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Music fans arrive for the first of eight Jay-Z shows which will open the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Gigi White, left, and Rashida White, both of Brooklyn, N.Y., arrive for the first of eight Jay-Z shows which will open the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Music fans arrive for the first of eight Jay-Z shows which will open the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

An electronic billboard advertising a Brooklyn Nets' game greets music fans as they arrive for the first of eight Jay-Z shows which opened the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Music fans arrive for the first of eight Jay-Z shows which opened the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Rapper Jay-Z performs the inaugural concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday Sept. 28, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Rapper Jay-Z performs the inaugural concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday Sept. 28, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Rapper Jay-Z performs the inaugural concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday Sept. 28, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Rapper Jay-Z performs the inaugural concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday Sept. 28, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Rapper Jay-Z performs the inaugural concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday Sept. 28, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)